DEVELOPING STORIES: UPDATED: Over what should have been a slow pre-holiday weekend two stories broke that again put the major labels at odds with several major Music 2.0 companies. Here are links to our updated coverage:
Expedia Labels French Worst Tourists
Here was the basic plot of the gore movie, Hostel: Obnoxious American tourists get sold to butchers at a higher rate than tourists from other countries because, well, they’re obnoxious American tourists. And that’s just not right, because according to a worldwide survey of hotel staffers from Expedia, it’s the French who are the most obnoxious tourists. Like we needed a survey; we saw Talladega Nights *.
Nine Inch Nails Spooks Music Labels With ‘Ghosts’
Nine Inch Nails star Trent Reznor decided to enjoy his label-free status as a musician in making a work of new songs available to anyone who wants to download them.
Study Labels Social Networking Types
MySpace commissioned a study of MySpace and Facebook users and researchers identified six types. They also invented a word or two along the way.
The Net: Killing Music Labels Since 2007
Radiohead kicked open the door, Trent Reznor is in the foyer admiring the chandelier, and bands like Oasis, Jamiroquai, and The Charlatans are rolling up the street looking for the party.
Record Labels To Blame For Industry Decline
Physical music sales continued a trend of downward progression and digital revenues are not making up the difference. Within the next two years, total revenues from music sales are projected to dip down to $23 billion, which is half of what the industry brought home a decade earlier.
AOL White-Labels Google Ad Platform
Part of the billion-dollar deal that Google invested in AOL has helped Time Warner’s interactive arm offer true search advertising purchases on AOL Search.
Labels to Sell Digital Music Directly to Fans
IODA, a digital distribution company for the independent music community, has announced a new service, which will allow independent record, labels to sell digital music directly to consumers on label and artist Web sites.
The company has partnered with DownloadCentric to offer the service to its label, distributor and artist clients. They will use the platform to create customized storefronts, which will facilitate direct-to- fan sales.
Major Record Labels Go After Yahoo China
A consortium of record labels which include Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group have filed suit against Alibaba, which is an operator affiliated with Yahoo China, alleging copyright infringement by the site. The announcement comes as record labels, along with the RIAA, are cracking down harder than ever on digital music piracy.
It’s been an up and down week for digital music aficionados, and it’s only Tuesday.
Record Labels Balk At Ad-Driven Downloads
Earlier this week, Baidu announced a partnership with EMI to bring streaming music to Chinese users by implementing an advertising supported free digital music network. There are other companies eager to take this sort of approach, but the major record labels are reluctant to embrace such practices.